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Sunday, June 30, 2013

hubby is currently out fishing and I’m sitting in the truck (well…by the time this gets posted I’ll be home with internet service, but let’s just pretend).

we finally got away and got to use our brand spanking new (to us) camper that we bought this spring.

I have no problem sleeping in a tent. but I could really get use to the idea of sleeping in a bed and going potty on a toilet. tmi? better stop now. it could only get worse later.

I had to work saturday so we left right after I got off from work and booked it up the mountain for the weekend.

as soon as we got to camp we gathered firewood to get a fire started.

jaggar managed to help….or at least got into the fire ring some. he had black all over him!

in our little family…things seem to be backwards.

hubby puts ME in charge of building the fire.

and I put him in charge of making dinner.

nonetheless…the fire took off without missing a beat. my dad would be so proud.

and dinner was so delicious I didn’t have time to take a picture of my plate.

BUT I did manage to take a picture of the furkids’ food.

yup…they got the same thing we got. hubby forgot their food. he had it all packed up, just left it by the door. so they ate dinner and breakfast like royalty this morning. that’s better than letting them go hungry, right? especially with all the exercise they were doing. they needed the fuel too.

we roasted marshmallows, enjoyed each other’s company, enjoyed the gorgeous mountains and nature’s beauty. did I mention driving into camp we saw a bull moose in the same meadow we saw the moose last week?

they pups seemed to take to the camper just fine and in no time jagger was out like a light.

sibley ended up being our guard dog for the night.

no one was getting past her at that door. even though she was the only one back on the bed this morning.

we all slept pretty peacefully. and let me tell ya…it was super nice going potty inside in the middle of the night. there was no fear of the boogey man or bigfoot or a yeti or those moose (or yes, sister and dad….even killer deer) getting me!

again the dogs ate like royalty this morning. breakfast burritos.

like any good blogger husband…he was on top of the picture taking this morning. I’m sure he got my good side here!

once we had our tummys full we took off on a hike! hubby tells me I fooled him into a longer hike than he thought. and I think he just wasn’t listening when I told him it was 1 mile to the road turnoff. 1 mile to the trailhead and 1 mile to the lookout. when I went to high school almost 10 years ago (yikes!!) that was a total of 3. but things could have changed since then.

we made the trailhead in no time.

remember these pictures from a month ago? look at them today!

we didn’t run into any snow today!

we easily made the lookout this afternoon.

we headed back to camp. but not without more pictures taken!

we sat down and had some stellar lunch. then we were off to fish; and that brings me to where I am now.

(but not really RIGHT now….only when I wrote this post)

I’ll hopefully have time to catch up on marathon training tomorrow. I might be a little delayed. long story short. traded my long run and cross training days. 6 mile hike was good enough for cross training! long run tomorrow morning. I have 10 miles already planned out.

Monday, June 24, 2013

I could name a variety of rules I broke that lead to it being more difficult.

1. I didn’t really fuel properly yesterday or this morning (I know I should know this one by now).2. it was hot. I don’t typically do well in the heat.3. there was about 4000 feet difference in elevation. I’m not 100% sure how much this really has to do with it though.

but. I got some miles on my legs at high elevations. so I guess I’m a happy camper.

we left cody this morning and made it to our camp spot by lunch time. we got the camper all set up and then I changed into running gear and headed out. I had a hope of doing 9-10 miles, but about mile 3 my mind changed….or should saw my ankle changed my mind for me.

I did a short out and back from the camper and then hubby joined me for the rest of the out and back the other way. the first whole mile was a pretty steady uphill. my legs were exhausted. they didn’t really get a proper warm up. another rule broken I suppose.

hubby met me at the camper and we took off for what I thought would be another 3 out and then 3 back.

it was gorgeous day on the mountain. a slight mountain breeze but still plenty warm. I almost completely bagged my run because I didn’t have my baseball cap and after getting a sunburn on the forehead yesterday I didn’t want to get a second sunburn. luckily I found a headband in my bag and used hubby’s chapstick on my nose for sunscreen (we didn’t have any of that with us either).

all 3 dogs got to join us again!

hubby rode his bike and was my encourager when I starting doubting my abilities.

focused. determined. pissed off at my body.

we had to stop and let a car go by. my ankle was never actively hurting while I ran. just when I stopped and stood there. I thought if I could just at least get my scheduled 7 I would be happy. we made it out to the highway and I would have liked to keep going but that was our turn around point.

on the way back my spirits lifted. did I ever mention that chocolate dog is my runner? she was leading the pack the whole way.

we got back to the truck and I hit just under 7. I guess my body is just a little exhausted and it was telling me. I was happy to be done.

the nice thing about running in the mountains…..

everybody gets an ice bath. but holy canoly! it was cold. painfully cold.

I threw on my new compression socks and hopped in the camper for some chow.

hubby went off fishing and I laid down to rest and before I knew it he was sprinting back to the camper. he told me grab my camera and leave the dogs. and off into the woods we went. just downstream from out camp he spotted some moose.

in the top picture that is a yearling calf. in the bottom two you can see momma and her brand new calf.

pft….and we paid 25 bucks to go to yellowstone.

I don’t think I’ve ever been on the bighorns and not see a moose. you just have to know where to look.

before we knew it momma and baby were walking right through camp.

I just love baby wildlife. the calf was just bouncing around and having a great time enjoying the weather!

as we drove down the mountain we spotted another momma and calf and yearling moose. 6 total for the day!

we took a back road into town and saw plenty of baby white tail deer too! I just love the little babies. so freaking cute!

Sunday, June 23, 2013

we were up early this morning to get a head start into the park. my alarm went off at 0500 and we were on the road by 0600.

we had animals to find and geysers to watch.

before we even got into the park this morning we spotted a small herd of elk. complete with baby elk!

we were entering the park by 0700.

there was a slight chill this morning and even some frost on the ground. but the sun was shining and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day!

in no time we ran into these big guys.

buffalo are the norm in the park, so we only stopped briefly before we hit the road again.

we paid $25.00 to get into the park and it also got us into Grand Teton NP; I was itching to see those gorgeous mountains. so we made the quick trip south to see one of the prettiest mountain ranges in all of north america.

there they are. we just need to get around to the front.

we stopped at one of my favorite spots to see moose. the park calls it willow flats….I call it moose flats because you are ALMOST always guaranteed to see a moose. apparently another 4 legged creature has made this place home because we weren’t able to get down farther into the flats.

don’t worry dad. we were very bear aware the whole time we were out. we didn’t spot any bears in the flats…sadly.

but I did get to see my mountains!

I don’t go into Grand Teton for animals….I go for the mountains. call me weird. my husband does all the time!

we headed back into Yellowstone NP and our next stop was old faithful. I feel like if you’ve see it blow once….its going to look the same the next time she blows. so we usually don’t hang around too much. when we pulled into the parking lot we could see her going off. oh darn. oh well. my favorite spot in this geyser basin is morning glory pool. its totally worth the mile walk out to the end!

totally worth it, right?

some of these pools with the colors are incredible!

unfortunately I got a nice forehead sunburn. we were only out in the sun for an hour….but we’re also about 4000 feet higher in elevation. doink!

we let the dogs out (don’t worry dad…they were on leashes and again we were very bear aware) to go potty and then grab a quick drink.

3 noses in one bowl…

the next little animal jam we came to was a canine…..just a coyote. no wolves seen today.

we even ended up seeing a mountain goat. there was a nice little traffic jam at this slide/boulder area and I thought for sure we were looking for a bear. and then I looked higher and saw a flash of white! I was pretty excited. I have never seen a mountain goat in the wild. it was incredible to see him hopping around on the side of these rocks. he was only out for a brief couple of seconds and then he disappeared behind the rocks.

on we went. apparently we found the most real thing to do when you visit wyoming.

trail rides!

our next big traffic jam involved buffalo….just like any good traffic jam in yellowstone.

this time though we had babies! that’s the whole reason we go to yellowstone in the spring time!

we kept our eyes peeled all the way through lamar valley, but no such luck but a bunch of buffalo.

we had a fantastic day in both parks and outside the park.

we came out through sunlight basin and had one more very special stop to make.

my uncle’s memorial. always nice to stop by and see this special place.

we’re exhausted. hubby is trying to keep his eyes open laying in the recliner next to me and all 3 dogs are passed out on the floor. we’ve got more exciting adventures ahead of us tomorrow. time to get some sleep. even though its still super light outside.